


Love me like no one has before

by koulakoukoula



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Comfort, Confession, F/M, Fluff, Hugs, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, prompto gets some love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:15:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29658108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koulakoukoula/pseuds/koulakoukoula
Summary: Emma has always been part of the group. Since the very beginning. When Prompto was shoved off the train and when they found him, it was time she showed him how much she loved him no matter his origins.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	Love me like no one has before

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Edgeofcreation](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Edgeofcreation/gifts).



> This is an original idea from the person I've gifted this work to! Please lemme know if you liked it! Drop 'em Kudos if you did! 
> 
> Enjoy! ❤

_“Prompto fell off the train, I pushed him… I mean… Ardyn made me. I don’t know where he is but… we can’t leave him!”_

It was Noctis’s voice that came from the intercom. Emma’s eyes widened. Her hands clenched into fists. _He did what?!_ But before she had the chance to start shouting at Noctis through her own intercom, she turned and looked Ignis incredulously when he spoke.

“Stay calm, Noct. I’m as concerned for Prompto as you are, but stopping the train would endanger everyone on board. We’d be sitting ducks for the daemons.” Ignis said. The voice of reason, he always was, but this time, it was all she could do to keep herself from punching him across the face.

It took Gladio and Ignis a couple of minutes to calm her down that until the daemons attacked. It didn’t take long till they reached Tenebrae though. Ignis, Gladio and Emma walked out of the train finding Noctis jumping off the roof. It was night when they reached the station and were -of course- tired and weary from the tense journey. _Oh-_ but Emma was _anything_ but weary. Her fingers clenched and her fist met Noctis’s cheek. Noctis let out a yelp of surprise. His body got knocked over the white plaques of the station’s floor.

“Emma! Stop!” Gladio’s voice came from behind as he rushed towards her. He trapped her hands behind her back, preventing her from further bruising the prince’s eye.

“He threw Prompto down the train! Don’t tell me to _stop,_ Gladio!” Emma kicked back at Gladio but he was stronger than her and no matter how much she fought against him, she couldn’t throw another punch at her _dear Prince._

“Emma, you don’t understand! It wasn’t my fault, Ardyn tricked me-” Noctis tried to explain, but she _didn’t care, Prince or not,_ he had risked the life of the man that she _loved_.

“I don’t care! What’s he going to do now, Noct?! All on his own out there?! Huh?!” Emma shouted. She couldn’t help worrying. The nights were longer, and the daemons were out _longer._ What if something happened to him? What then? Could she even _bear_ something happening to him?

“You need to calm down, Emma!” Ignis’s voice came harshly. “To look for Prompto is the first thing that we’re going to do,”

And _indeed._ Their next stop was Niflheim.

◄ ◊ ► ◄ ◊ ► ◄ ◊ ► ◄ ◊ ► ◄ ◊ ►

He didn’t how much it took that he _cried._ Tied there, in the dark, in a room deep within the labs of that _cursed Empire._ He was a monster, _wasn’t he?_ No one was coming for him, _was there?_ The burn mark around his wrist still ached. A failed attempt to burn the codeprint from his wrist. Prompto let out a bitter chuckle. There was no erasing his past. He could _not burn away_ the evidence that his very existence was _a mistake._

He did not know if he was ever going to get out of there. There was no use. He was tied and outnumbered. There was no way out of this place. That place was his _home_ after all. He was… _created_ there. Just like all the other Magiteks, he was a monster. They would either further experiment on him or brainwash him, give him an armour and send him back to the battlefield. Whatever it was that awaited him, he knew he deserved it. He did not deserve to have a place beside the guys. He wasn’t one of them. He was a monster.

 _Why did it have to hurt so much?_ Another tear slipped down Prompto’s cheek. He couldn’t believe that he was created in a lab. He couldn’t believe how _unworthy_ he was of Noctis’s, Ignis’s and Gladio’s friendship. He always _felt_ unworthy, but _this…_ A sob reached his throat and he let it out. He was alone. He wasn’t afraid of crying in the dark, mourning for his own existence.

He could do nothing but wait for the fate that lied before him.

But _Emma?_ What would she think if she found out? She was going to hate him, _wasn’t she?_ Just like everyone _should_. But _she, hating him_ would hurt more than anything else. He had never told her that he… _no._ It was too late _now_. She would never find out. They weren’t coming for him. Why would they? He did not deserve it.

Light hit his eyelids. _Light?_ Where did the light come through all this _darkness?_

Next thing he knew, his limbs were released from his restraints and he was falling. His knees hit the floor but somebody grabbed hold of him and his forehead found a shoulder. He couldn’t believe it. _No._ This might’ve been some kind of hallucination. There was no way they had come back for him.

He felt fingers in his hair and he heard voices. It made him rethink that _maybe…_ just maybe they were actually there.

“Prom! Prom!” Emma’s voice found his ears and her hand found his face. He felt her thumb on his cheek as she urged him to lift his head off her shoulder and look at her. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” She asked. Her eyes, wide in worry. She had knelt in front of him, supporting his weak body with her own. His eyes met hers and then he looked around at the other three.

“Are you hurt?”

“Are you okay?”

“Emma… guys… y- you came for me?” He asked and he seemed so surprised by it, it broke her heart. Did he really think that she would just leave him? How _dare_ he think of that? She would never leave him. And she’d kick all the other’s _asses_ if they’d ever _consider_ leaving Prompto behind.

Her hand found his face, cupping his cheek. “Of course, we did,”

Prompto turned over and looked at Noctis. His left eye, slightly bruised. “What happened to Noct?”

Gladio chuckled “Emma socked him for pushing you off the train,”

Prompto turned at Emma and looked at her in surprise. He couldn’t believe he was _worth_ a punch to the Prince. Why would she do that? Why would she risk punching the _King of Kings_ for a _lowlife_ such as him?

Noctis knelt beside him, placing a hand on Prompto’s shoulder as he chuckled. “She got a heavy hand, I tell you,”

Prompto sat back on his bum. His perfect lips slightly quirked into a smile but it faded, and he breathed shakily as he turned at Noctis and Emma. “Tell me… were you guys worried about me?”

 _What a stupid question to ask?_ They had known each other for _so long._ Emma’s hand found his face, and she wiped the wet traces of his tears with her thumb.

“Of course, we were,” Noctis said.

“What kind of question is that?” Emma asked.

Prompto let out a bitter chuckle as he tried to stand up and Emma helped him. “Of course. That’s why you came like I believed you would. That’s why I told myself… I couldn’t die…”

“Prompto-”

“I needed to see you…” Prompto turned and looked at her. The sorrow was so intense in his eyes it made her heart break. “…I needed to hear you tell me I’m not fake… that I’m… the real me,”

Emma cupped his cheek. “Prompto, what’s going on?” she asked worriedly. She hated to watch him be like that.

His hand found hers and gently he pushed it away from her cheek. “It’s alright. Everything’s alright now,”

◄ ◊ ► ◄ ◊ ► ◄ ◊ ► ◄ ◊ ► ◄ ◊ ►

Noctis sighed. “Door’s locked,”

“Is there no way through?” Ignis asked.

“There’s a way,” Prompto said.

His hands fisted. A painful expression laid across his face as he approached the control panel on the wall. He looked at his hand. _Oh-_ how much did he hate himself for what he was. He wanted so much to avoid letting them know. They wouldn’t treat him the same if they found out. But there was no other way they could open that door. It was the only choice that they had and he didn’t want to let his _ridiculous_ feelings get in the way.

He pressed his wrist by the screen, exposing his codeprint till the light turned green and the door opened. He could feel everybody’s gazes piercing him with curiosity and most possibly _disgust._ He wouldn’t blame them. This is how people _should_ look at him. 

“So… MTs. They’ve got those… codeprints… just like I do,” Prompto said.

Emma opened her mouth to speak, but Noctis beat her to it. “Do they? Never looked,”

“Yeah so… as it turns out… I’m one of them. Not exactly something I could tell people growing up in Lucis,” Prompto said, pursing his lips together, trying so hard to keep the tears from rolling down his cheeks. His voice trembled as he tried to avoid everyone’s gazes “Still… you guys are like… the only friends I’ve ever known. I just hope that things can stay the same as they were,”

Emma approached him. She caught his hand in hers and he turned and looked at her in surprise. How could she still _do that_ even after she had found out that he was nothing but a monster?

“Prompto, look at me,” Emma said as her hand reached for his face urging him to look at her in the eye. “Whether you were born here or not, it doesn’t matter. You’re still our friend,”

“Exactly! Who cares where you were born?” Noctis said.

“I don’t see you turning against us not now, or ever,” Ignis said.

Prompto pursed his lips. “Thanks guys. Still I can’t change where I came from. What I am,”

Noctis chuckled “Since when does where you come from matter to you? You never once treated me as a prince,”

Gladio choked back a laugh “He’s got you there,”

“Never so much as a _‘Highness’_ ,” Ignis said

Noctis walked into the room “We’re done here. C’mon, Crown Citizen,”

Gladio passed a hand around Ignis to guide him into other room with Noctis. He patted a hand on Prompto’s shoulder “You’re one of us, right?”

“Unless you’d rather not be,” Ignis said as he followed the other two and Emma turned at Prompto, who was still standing back, that painful expression still on his face and her hand reached for his shoulder. He turned and looked at her and she gave him a smile.

“You _are_ one of us,”

He never thought it’d be so easy. He did not deserve any of that, did he? But she had punched Noctis for him. She was there _now_ looking at him with genuine worry in her eyes, and her hand was still on his cheek. She just walked closer and pushed him into a hug. He found himself burying his face in her shoulder and his hands slipped around her waist and pressed her close.

He sighed. Her hands found his hair, tangling into his messy blonde strands, soothing him. How could she still hug somebody like him? “You’re our friend, Prom. We love you,” she whispered in his ear and she heard him sighing against her shoulder. She pulled back to look at him. Her hand found his cheek, cupping gently. “Nothing can change that,”

Prompto still pursed his lips. The sorrow hadn’t left from his blue eyes. _No._ He did not deserve this. He was a monster. His mere existence was a _mistake._ He didn’t not reply. She knew what he was thinking and it hurt so much knowing that he thought of himself that way. She would sit him down and they’d talk after this. She needed to see his smile again, and listen to those dumb comments that he always made over anything. She needed to let him know how much she loved him.

It was so much, her heart fluttered beneath her chest. But _now_ a big fight lied ahead. It was no time for such confessions. She took his hand, and they joined the others.

◄ ◊ ► ◄ ◊ ► ◄ ◊ ► ◄ ◊ ► ◄ ◊ ►

They were finally stabilised in the open dark skies in Aranea’s ship. Emma’s eyes searched for Prompto, but he wasn’t on the bridge and Gladio said he was on the back. Emma walked out of the bridge only to find him sitting by the floor. His back rested against a crate. His head hung from his shoulders. Eyes shut, unsteady breathing. His hands, gathered on his lap. She hated so much to watch him being like this.

She hated so much to watch the man that she loved being in pain like that. She approached him and settled on his lap. Her hands found his, settling them around her waist and then she reached for his hair whilst he pressed his forehead on her chest. A shuddering sob came out of him and it broke her heart. Her fingers caressed soothingly his hair and she sucked a deep breath trying to keep her own tears at bay.

She didn’t know how long they stayed there like that. She buried her face in his hair and drew in his scent. She felt his fingers clutching on her shirt as if he was afraid that she was going to leave. Who _wouldn’t_ leave? He was a monster. He was _flawed._ He had always been. His life made much more sense now. He did not deserve _any_ of this.

“Emma…” his voice cracked. Another sob formed on his throat and his tears wetted her shirt. “…I’m a monster… why are you doing this?” He couldn’t understand. _Why_ was she still holding him? She should be looking at him in disgust because _that’s what he deserved._

But her hands found his face. She pulled back to look at him. He was trying his best to keep the rest of his tears from rolling down his cheeks. Her other hand reached for his. The one with the codeprint. She brought it to her lips and pressed a soft kiss on that one spot that hated about himself the _most._ How could she do that? How was she not disgusted by him? He didn’t know. He just knew his heart thumped hard against his ears and for a moment he had stopped breathing.

Such acceptance, such kindness, he’d never known.

She pressed her forehead against his, making sure she had his attention. “This does not define who you are, Prom,”

 _Oh-_ but it _did._ And he could not change the fact that he was just another test subject. A clone. A _nugatory clone._ But she pressed another kiss on his wrist, and such thoughts ceased in his mind. “I don’t care _where_ you were brought into this world…” she laced their fingers together, “…I don’t care _how_ you were brought into this world…” her hand found his cheek, wiping a wet trace left there by his tears “…but I’m just so thankful that you were,” she kissed away a tear that had been rolling down his cheek and she looked at him. “I love you, Prompto,”

She finally said it. She couldn’t hold back. She needed to let him know how much she felt for him. She needed to let him know that he was loved. That he was wanted. That he was _needed_. She _needed_ him. He just looked at her. His lower lip slightly quivered as he finally released the tears that he had tried so hard to hold back.

“Please say it again,” It came out as a whisper. A soft plea. She was more than willing to comply. He _needed_ to hear it again. No one had ever said that to him. No one was ever willing to show him the slightest of such emotions. He hadn’t known how much he _needed_ that until _now_.

“I love you,”

A soft sob found his throat and he bit his tongue. Eyes shutting painfully. “No one has ever said that to me before,”

And that’s where she _broke_. She was trying so hard to stay strong for him, but his words and the sorrow in them was just too much. Tears slipped down her own cheeks. She hadn’t noticed how much hurt and lonely he must’ve felt until now. Both her hands found his face and wiped away his tears.

“I will tell you every day…” She couldn’t hold back. She leaned it and pressed a kiss on his cheek, tasting his salty tears. “…I love you…” she pressed another kiss, slightly closer to his lips “…I love you…” and then she found the corners of his lips. She pressed another kiss there and tried to say it again, but he kissed her.

He crushed his lips against hers and shushed her. Now his own hand found her face. His thumb brushed across her cheek and he kissed her, and she kissed him back, and their hearts beat hard against each other’s chest. She met his taste with her own. His hands tightened around her waist. Fingers snuck beneath her shirt and traced her skin.

She tasted his salty tears on his lips and she couldn’t get enough of it. She couldn’t get enough of the sweet way that his tongue lapped against hers. Her hands found his shoulders, clutching on his clothes, bringing him as close as she possibly could. She loved him. _She loved him._

She didn’t know how much time it passed whilst they kissed. But when they pulled back, his thumb found her cheek, and his eyes met hers.

“I love you too, Emma…” he breathed shakily against her lips as he cupped her cheek and repeated it because no matter how many times, he would say it, it just was never enough to show her how much he felt for her. “I love you too,” 


End file.
